Magic at its core is a game. A game with the audience’s mind and perception.
Magic tricks, performed by well rehearsed magicians, are games played on the mind that make a witness believe what the magician wants him or her to believe.
A talented magician will undoubtedly use many different kinds of mind games to maneuver an audience into a mind set that allows him to create illusions.
A good magician is an actor, an illusionist, a game player who diverts the audiences attention away from the real trick, that which is actually happening with impeccable timing and shrewdness.
The magician appears to be performing the impossible, right before your very eyes, but distraction is the really game he is playing with you. It is most important in his magic trick that he manipulate or influence the audience into believing what they think they see, by controlling their attention.
Misdirection and sleight of hand is the magician’s finest skill. Even the mechanical or scientific props that are necessary for some of his visual tricks are only as good as the magician’s performance and sleight of hand distractions that lead the audience to...